The Last of Us
by The Inner Turmoil
Summary: 24 years after the cordyceps outbreak, Ruby and Yang struggle with survival in a world that is no longer theirs. Traveling from quarantine zone to quarantine zone, desperately trying to find a safe place to call home. Survival is difficult when your only reason for living is to protect the ones you love. Rated M for violence/gore.
1. Arc 1: Ruby and Yang P1

**Alright, so with my major excitement level to be replaying the Last of Us on PS4 tomorrow, I couldn't get this idea out of my head for a RWBY fanfiction based in the Last of Us universe. First, I'll say no. Characters from Last of Us will not appear here. Second, I am still in the middle of writing two chapters for Forced Attraction, and the next chapter for Princess and the Orphan. And finally, this story will only be updated whenever I can write the next chapter. It will not be updated regularly (At least, I don't plan on it, but we'll see what my brain says.) I will say that this story will NOT be as good as the original Last of Us story. Mostly because I can't capture that Father/daughter charm that Naughty Dog has. Also, the writers for the game are skilled to the point where I will NEVER get to that level haha. Anyway, on to the story. Please review! It helps me grow as a writer and lets me know how well I did. (Here's a kitty to help convince you!) =(: 3)  
**

***Warning: Before you begin your descent into this story and it's updates, Main Characters are NOT safe from dying! This includes the members of Team RWBY.  
**

* * *

_You step outside, you risk your life. You take a drink of water, you risk your life. And now-a-days, you breath...and you risk your life. Every moment, now. You don't have a choice. The only thing you can choose, is what your risking it for. _

_The number of confirmed deaths has passed over two hundred. The Governor has called a state of emergency..._

_There were hundreds and hundreds of bodies lining the streets..._

_Panic spread worldwide after a leaked report from the World Health Organization showed that the latest vaccination tests have failed. _

_...with the beurocrats out of power, we can finally take the neccessary steps to..._

_Venetia is now the latest city to be placed under Martial Law, now marking over 70% of Vale..._

_All residents are required to report to their assigned quarantine-_

_Riots have continued for a third consecutive day, and winter rations are at an all time low._

_A group calling themselves the Fireflies have claimed responsibility for both attacks. _

_Their public charter calls for the return of all branches of government._

_Demonstrations broke out following the exectution of six more alleged Fireflies._

_**You can still rise with us. Remember when you're lost in the darkness...look for the light. **_

_**Believe in the Fireflies. **_

RWBY

The Last of Us

* * *

**Summer, August 28th**  
**13 years after the initial Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis Epidemic Outbreak**

Before the cordyceps outbreak over twenty-four years ago, Vale was a booming country, priding themselves in their military strength, wealth, and growing economy. Advancements in technology were moving forward at an incredible rate, paving the way for a new industrial age. This lasted only mere moments when a new disease had come to light.

Cordyceps had originally been believed to only affect insects or arachnids. Miniscule spiders, ants or bee's. The spores would generally attach themselves to the host body and break through the exoskeleton. Eventually, yeast stages of the fungus spread through the body, growing over the brain. The anomaly now grown over the brain, the cordyceps takes over the host body, altering their behavior to move them to leaves before dying and reproducing.

That was in insects.

The cordyceps fungus mutated, developing everything it needed to survive and break through a warm-blooded host. Once the fungus spreads and grows over the brain, the mycelium breaks through the skull, taking over the body both inside and out. The poor souls who had been afflicted with the fungal disease are killed from the inside, and their bodies are completely under the control of this parasitic species, paving the way for the end of everything humanity had worked for.

Governments crumbled. Husbands attacked wives. Neighbors slaughtered neighbors.

Even the non-infected began killing other 'clean' humans in the name of survival. Stealing ration cards, ammunition, medical supplies. In some cases, even the clothes off of their backs.

It began to rise the question, were they really surviving?

Or were they just existing?

Now, twenty-four years later, the planet has lost nearly sixty percent of the human population, and many cities and states have fallen under martial law.

Ruby Rose was born five years into the outbreak, just two years after her sister, Yang Xiao Long. Yang was only Ruby's half-sister, since they both only shared the same dad. The older sisters biological mother had stolen all of her dads ration cards and abandoned him shortly after her birth. It wasn't long before he met Summer Rose, Ruby's mother.

She was a kind woman and she would only eat small portions of her rations than deemed healthy. She did this, so that Yang could eat when her father didn't have enough ration cards. After a while, the two fell in love and conceived Ruby. Their father and mother were both killed when Ruby had turned seven years old. Her father had been mugged and murdered by a gang of men for his ration cards. Their mother had suffered a far worse fate. During a mandatory scanning, young Ruby and Yang were stricken with horror and grief, hearing that all too familiar beeping sound.

FEDRA would often break into the homes located inside quarantine zones to scan for infected humans. Sometimes if they had any reason to believe an infected was inside, and other as just a precaution. This was the former. FEDRA Soldiers used a special machine to test humans for any level of infection with cordyceps inside the quarantine zones. It had a special needle that would break past the layer of skin at the back of your neck and scan your blood.

"Hands on your fucking heads." The soldier ordered.

Everyone complied, kneeling on the ground and placing their hands over their heads. Ruby and Yang were worried, not fully understanding what was going on. Ruby winced in pain when the needle was placed in her neck. After a split second, a low beep came from the device.

Clean.

The soldier pulled out a small cleaning rag and a small bottle of disinfectant. Spraying the needle, he briefly wiped the needle clean and moved over to Yang. The blonde couldn't keep still, her body shaking with fear. Ruby nearly screamed when one of the soldiers grabbed and constricted her, the other sticking the needle in her neck. Yang's eyes were nearly jutting out of her head, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Then, the beep came.

Clean.

Both girls felt a wave of relief wash over them. Yang let her muscles relax when the soldiers walked away, moving to the man beside her as they cleaned the needle again. He was an older man, around thirty years old with a scraggly black beard. The stress of survival was apparent on his features, as his hair had begun to gray, the skin on his face having wrinkles all over. He also had huge bags under his eyes, indicating that he had not slept well in days. Perhaps even weeks.

Could anyone blame him?

The soldiers quickly jabbed the needle in his neck, applying too much pressure and eliciting a yelp of pain. A small amount of blood dribbled down his neck. They waited slightly longer than normal before they heard the beep.

Clean.

When the soldiers moved away, the man placed his hand on his neck, applying pressure to try to keep the small wound from bleeding any further. The soldiers moved over to their mother, Summer Rose, they placed the machine at her neck after giving it another brief cleaning. A second went by and both girls felt their hearts break in unison. A different beeping sound emanated from the machine. It was faster, and didn't stop after the first beep like theirs had.

Infected.

The soldiers swiftly tackled their mother to the ground following Ruby and Yang's cries of anguish. They tried to lunge forward, only to be held in place by another soldier. Instead of claiming that she wasn't infected, which had become a common occurrence for many in this very state, Summer instead turned to her daughters.

"Ruby, Yang, please look away!" Summer desperately cried out.

The two girls couldn't move or voice their grief. Instead, they watched as they injected their mother with another needle. After the liquid from the needle poured into Summer's neck, her body began violently writhing on the ground. Summer choked back sobs of both pain and anguish, her own daughters staring in horror. The scene lasted merely seconds, despite feeling like hours. The lifeless body of their mother laid motionless on the ground.

"Oh shit!" a man cried out. Ruby couldn't tell if it was the man beside Yang, or one of the many passerby's.

There were still several more civilians waiting to be scanned. The injection had shaken their nerves. Some of the others had even attempted to run, three of them jumping off the ground and sprinting in the other direction. Ruby and Yang didn't know if they were infected, but they knew that they were no longer of this world. The soldiers didn't take any chances and opened fire, the runners momentum carrying their dead bodies just a little further before colliding with the cold concrete.

Ruby and Yang both felt their hearts beating rapidly, desperately wanting this all to end, tears pouring out of their eyes. The younger girl hadn't even realized that she'd been screaming, her sense of sound having been deafened by the sounds of gunfire being in such close proximity. Yang hugged herself, curling up into a ball and leaning her back against the wall behind her.

Girls, just _children_, had just witnessed four lives taken from the world. One of which held a special place in their hearts.

That was just the start of all of their problems.

* * *

**Summer, June 23rd**  
**24 years after the initial Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis Epidemic Outbreak**

After nineteen years on this hell-hole of a planet, Ruby was surprised she could still find sleep. She relished every moment she could close her eyes in safety, even though the moment would only last a few hours. Times of sleep only lasted roughly three hours for her, the fear of not opening them again being to great.

The stress had also played a part.

Sleepless nights began to plague her physical form. Her once lively eyes now dull, with large dark bags underneath. The red-tipped hair atop her head would always be disheveled and sometimes greasy.

She couldn't remember the last time she was able to shower.

The girl of only nineteen years wasn't sure if she should be glad that she was awake, or disappointed that it only meant another day in a world that was no longer theirs. The cordyceps infected had run them to the brink of extinction and had forced her to witness countless acts of violence and horror. To this day, she still shuddered when thinking of all the horrible things she'd witnessed.

Ruby was resting on a dirty, worn out couch. The upholstery had been torn in countless places and one of the legs had even fallen off. The color of the couch had begun to fade, making it look rather dusty. Ruby didn't care about the condition of her makeshift bed. Even having a place to sleep in was a miracle in its self.

The girl had taken refuge in a small apartment complex inside the Ashwin quarantine zone. Aswhin had been one of the first states in Vale to fall under martial law. Ruby didn't plan on staying for long. Her and Yang would often move from quarantine zone to quarantine zone, having to sneak passed FEDRA soldiers at the gates. It was dangerous, and she couldn't count how many times they'd nearly been killed by FEDRA soldiers or a pack of clickers.

The room she stayed in was incredibly dusty and broken down. A chunk of the floor had been missing, offering a view of the floor beneath her own. The hole had been haphazardly patched up with wooden boards and was no larger than the average studio apartment. It held only the basic essentials, and even those had been in very poor condition.

The girls clothing hadn't been fairing any better. Mixed with the lack of showers, no one had clean clothes. Ruby was wearing a black and red plaid shirt that had moderate amounts of caked in dirt all over. Her blue jeans were faded and had the same amount of dirt as her shirt. The only clothing she had that was in good condition were her black boots that stopped just under her knees.

Ruby heard the sound of a jiggling door knob. When the door opened, her sister Yang quickly darted in, slamming the wooden door shut. Similar to Ruby, her clothes were caked in dust. She wore a faded yellow t-shirt and black jeans that had huge holes in the knees. The blonde was seething with rage, barely acknowledging Ruby's presence in the room. Instead, she walked over to the wooden table, grabbing a bottle of alcohol and taking a large gulp. She didn't even bother grabbing one of the few glasses they had in the apartment. Ruby got up off the couch and approached her sister.

"I take it the job didn't go well?"

Yang quickly moved the bottle away from her mouth, gasping for air after chugging down the liquid.

"The fucking asshole set me up! I had the goddamn FEDRA army all over my ass!" Yang yelled, swinging her arms as she spoke angrily. The liquid resting inside the bottle swayed with the motions.

Ruby sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Yang had gone out to collect weapons from a smuggler for some Cardin Winchester guy. Promised them a few ration cards and enough ammo to get them through another month.

"So what are we gonna do?" Ruby asked.

"We're gonna find his ass and then-"

Ruby cut the blonde off, raising her voice. "Find him and do what, yang!? We're running low on ammo, we barely have any supplies. We wouldn't stand a chance and you know it!"

Yang's grip on the bottle tightened for a split second before the glass made contact with the wall. The glass bottle shattered with a loud crashing noise as the shards fell to the ground. Whatever liquid had still resided in the bottle was now dripping down the wall and onto the floor, soaking into the already rotting wood.

"Then what do _you_ think we should do!? We can't just leave the fucking quarantine zone without ammo. The damn FEDRA will have us gunned down in seconds, and even if we _do _get out, how long will it take before we get torn to fucking pieces by runners!?"

Ruby plopped down on the couch, putting her face in her hands. Things had been getting increasingly difficult in recent times. Ammo was getting more and more scarce, and getting materials smuggled into the quarantine zones wasn't safe anymore. This had been the third time they'd been betrayed during a job, and things were only getting worse.

Yang put a hand to her forehead, turning away from Ruby while she thought. Several different scenarios played out in her head, most of which involved finding Cardin and making him pay. Each of those scenarios ended with either one, or both of them dead. The only scenarios that even held a glimmer of hope involved the group calling themselves the fireflies. Those scenarios were last-ditch efforts, but Yang didn't think they had much of a choice anymore. Yang shook her head and turned back to Ruby.

"We'll have to take some jobs with the fireflies."

Ruby chuckled slightly, leaning back into the couch. "The fireflies have been dying off left and right, Yang. I don't think-"

"I don't think we have much of a choice. Our luck has been running itself thin for years, Ruby. We can't keep relying on that because our luck will run out sooner or later."

Ruby ran her fingers through her messy hair, sighing as she closed her eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but Yang had a point. Even so, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to continue. For years, they've struggled to survive, and each day, they only got more and more miserable. They risked their lives just for basic survival needs. This wasn't the way they should have to live.

"What makes you think they'll even accept our help?" Ruby finally spoke up.

"Well...its just like you said. They've been dying off left and right. I think they need all the help they can get."

Ruby set her hand on the arm rest of the couch, the other reaching into her pockets. She pulled out a small, worn out cross that had belonged to her mother. She fiddled with it between her fingers, swallowing hard and nodding her head.

"Okay."

* * *

**I apologize if this ending seemed to be too abrupt, but I felt like it was a good place to leave off. One more point I'd like to point out, yes. White Rose will be in this story, as I refuse to write anything else (SUE ME!). However, the relationship won't really take a MAJOR center stage, but will be a fairly main plot point. Thanks to those of you who took the time to read this! You are awesome!  
**


	2. Arc 1: Ruby and Yang P2

_There are a million ways we should've died before today...and a million ways we can die before tomorrow. But we fight...for every second we get to spend with each other. Whether it's two minutes...or two days. _

_-The Last of Us: Left Behind_

RWBY  
The Last of Us

"Okay." Was all Ruby needed to say. Yang relaxed her stance, slumping her shoulders down and letting out a breath of relief. She licked her slightly chapped lips, thinking over the real game-plan. A muffled sound was breaking its way into the room, both Ruby and Yang looking at each other before quickly walking over to one of their boarded up windows. Ruby looked between two boards, the glass partially dusty and offering but a vague look at the outside. She was able to make out several FEDRA soldiers marching through the streets with an armored truck following close behind. Yang put her ear to the wall, trying to hear better. The loudspeakers outside were going off.

"Curfew is now in effect. Anyone caught outside without proper authorization will be arrested and prosecuted."

The loudspeaker repeated that same line three times before the person speaking hung it up, the sound of the phone hitting its dashboard echoing through the streets. Yang and Ruby looked at each other, slightly panicked and mostly confused. They both stepped back from the wall, gathering in the middle of the living room area.

"Why the hell are they calling for curfew already? Curfew isn't supposed to start for another two hours." Yang asked. The blonde made a sound of distaste, waving her arm at the window as she walked over to the counter tops in the kitchen.

Ruby brought her hand to her chin, thinking over several scenarios that would've caused this. While she thought, Yang was throwing various supplies into a small, brown leather backpack. The backpack was dirty and worn, one of the straps was broken and several sections around the front had small holes. When Yang had packed all of her things, she checked the front to make sure nothing would be falling out before slinging the single strap over her shoulder.

Ruby shook her head and sighed, letting her arm fall to her side. "It must be the fireflies. They're way too calm for it to be the infected." She turned her back to face Yang, looking at her quizzically.

"What are you doing?"

Yang pulled a pistol off the counter and tossed it to Ruby, who caught it gracefully. "We'll have to sneak out. Use that _only _if you have to." She said strictly, walking toward the front door with one arm on the strap of her bag and the other clasped around her pistol.

"I know the drill." Ruby sighed, loading a bullet in the chamber, hearing that all too familiar _click _ before slipping it in the back of her pants. Ruby hesitated for a moment. "We can't really be sneaking out, can we? You know that, if we get caught, we'll be prosecuted and probably killed."

Yang stopped at the door, hand resting limply on the handle. She pondered the question for a moment. After thinking it through, she swung the door open, holding it for a second before she was sure it wouldn't smack against the wall and attract FEDRA's attention. The two hurried down the stairs of the apartment complex, ducking down by the boarded up windows at the bottom of the stairwell. Yang took a quick peek outside through the boards, looking for any signs of movement. When she didn't see any, she opened the door and Ruby followed suit.

The two kept to the shadows, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of FEDRA movement. Ruby was surprised by how quiet it was for curfew. Normally, there would be several transport vehicles and droves of soldiers searching the streets for people like them. Ruby looked around at all the buildings. The entire quarantine zone seemed old and worn down. Most of the buildings were built from brick or concrete. The bricks were faded and chipped in many areas and stained all over. The concrete suffered the same fate, but was less chipped as the resource was harder and more solid. Nearly every window was either cracked, scratched, or broken, and all of them were incredibly dusty. The ground they were walking on was uneven and littered with garbage. This was downtown. The closer one got to the checkpoints and ration lines, the less filthy it became.

Yang stopped just in front of Ruby, crouching low to the ground and holding out her hand. "Hold up."

From around the corner, Ruby could see several FEDRA soldiers lining up a group of three civilians. Poor bastards hadn't gotten indoors before curfew and were about to be arrested. The soldiers pulled out the special machine for identifying infected individuals.

"On your knees and keep your hands on your heads." he ordered.

Each of the stragglers knelt down, holding their hands above their heads and awaited their fate. They placed the machine at each of their necks, eliciting the same beeping sound for each.

"They're clean." One of the soldiers said. The other two nodded and grabbed the group by their arms and hoisted them up.

"You load 'em up and I'll call it in."

The stragglers kept their hands behind their heads. The third soldier shoved his gun into a larger mans back. He said, "Get the fuck moving.", while motioning to the large vehicle. As each of them got into the vehicle, the first soldier gripped the strap of his bag that held his communicator.

"Sgt. Rowes in sector I-13. We've got three stragglers caught out after curfew. Bringing them in for prosecution...understood. ETA is about five minutes."

Yang and Ruby watched as the soldiers got in the large vehicle. The engine roared and the vehicle hissed as it began moving forward. Yang shook her head and kept moving. Even though Ruby followed her, her eyes didn't leave where she saw that group. She felt bad, knowing what was about to be their fate. It could have been them. Ruby somewhat felt jealous, knowing that they would be released from this hell hole they called a world.

The two made it to another old, worn down building. This building used to be a school, but was now nothing more than a large box of rusted metal and broken windows. Yang approached a red, metal door. She knocked three times, the sound of the banging metal filling the once quiet air. When nothing happened after a minute, Ruby cringed as Yang kicked the door.

"God damnit, Sun! Open the fucking door!" Yang yelled, forgetting that they were supposed to be inconspicuous. Ruby looked around, making sure that nobody was around to hear them. Just like always, they had only gotten lucky as no one seemed to hear them.

Ruby brought her attention back to the door, as it slowly slid open, crunching as it shifted along the cement ground. Yang and Ruby quickly shuffled inside, making sure to slide it back shut. It was pitch black inside, as Ruby couldn't even see the hand in front of her face. With how long they had been in this quarantine zone, Ruby had only ever been in here twice. It was a safe house for people like them. Stragglers who would bounce from place to place, not trusting the FEDRA's rule, or other 'camps' that promised salvation.

Ruby brought her hand to her face as a bright light suddenly came on, followed by a slight buzzing sound. She could see everything that decorated the room. From the grime and stained tables littered with various papers, to the various shelves that had everything from old clothes, to bins of various supplies. There were also various bunk beds around, either just covered in filthy blankets or occupied by an exhausted straggler.

"Well look who it is! I thought I'd see you two here today." came a rather amused voice.

A boy, no older than Yang approached them. He had wild, blonde hair and wore nothing but a pair of blue jeans and a white sweater. The sweater was unzipped, showing off his well maintained abs and had various, unidentifiable stains that made it almost look grey. His blue jeans were way too long for him, so he had them rolled up to just below his knees.

"What the hell were you guys doing in the dark?" Yang asked, walking over to one of the shelves and looking through the bins.

Sun nearly deadpanned, bringing his hand up to his forehead. "Uh, sleeping?"

Ruby shook her head and walked over to the shelf behind Sun, mimicking Yang and going through the bins for anything useful. Sun quickly joined her, grabbing various materials and supplies. A small amount of bandages, a half filled water bottle, a box of screws, and a nearly depleted roll of duct tape. Ruby watched him take the materials and approach the table in the middle of the room. Throwing the supplies on it, he pulled out a backpack that had been carelessly placed underneath it and started packing up everything he had grabbed.

"You guys getting ready to head out again?" Yang asked, examining a few bullets she had found.

Most of the bullets seemed to be used, and she scowled as she tossed them back on the shelf. She never knew why people would save the empty shells and just mix them with their inventory. Out of the five bullets she found, only two of them were still unused and good to be used. She pocketed the bullets and turned her head slightly when she didn't get a reply, seeing Sun zipping up the backpack.

"Yup. Most of us, at least. Leaving a few behind." Sun said, walking up to another shelf and grabbing a rolled up piece of parchment. "They're either too worn down to continue, which will just drag us down, or just don't have the will to keep moving."

Ruby stopped rummaging and joined Yang by her side. "So you're abandoning them?" she said, clearly not looking too pleased.

Sun turned his head in her direction, but didn't look her in the eyes, instead focusing on the floor. Part of him felt ashamed, but this was what their world had come to. If you weren't useful, or didn't have the strength to make it on your own, you were left behind to fend for yourself. When every second is a struggle to survive, you couldn't worry about useless baggage.

"We don't have a choice, red.." Sun whispered. He turned to completely look at them and approached the table, unfolding the parchment. He reached under the table and grabbed two bins, setting them down on the left and right sides of the parchment. Yang looked at the contents, then at Sun, confused.

"The hell is this, Sun?"

The blonde haired boy gave her a cheeky grin. "Uh, a map?" He joked.

Yang leaned in dangerously close to him from her side of the table. "I _see_ that." She growled.

Sun ignored her and pointed to a spot on the map, somewhere to the far eastern side. "This is where we're heading. I heard from a few old buddies of mine that there's a new settlement out east. Supposed to be a fresh start for humanity."

Yang scoffed and shook her head, pushing away from the table and pacing about. "Are you fucking kidding me? Do you know how many of these 'fresh starts' there have been? Every single one of them is either a failure, or some hunter trap that ends in rape and murder."

Sun put up his hand, trying to calm her down. "I know, I know, but...this might actually be the real deal. I've heard that they're doing pretty good out there. They've got livestock, food, water..even power. _Power_, Yang. I think that's worth checking out."

Yang stayed silent, thinking over the information he gave her. "Why are you telling me this?" she said, carefully.

"I thought you might want to come with us." Sun said, honestly. He pushed the bins over and off the map, rolling it back up and removing it from the table.

Yang didn't waste anytime in shaking her and walking completely away, taking an interest in another shelf of supplies. "No way. Not happening."

Sun held out his arms. "Come on, Yang. Don't you want to find a place you can actually call home? To keep Ruby safe?"

Sun had to duck to avoid a bottle that Yang hurled at his head. The resounding crash made Ruby flinch, and startled several sleeping occupants. They each jumped out of their sleep, immediately jumping to their feet and scrambling for weapons. Yang and Sun ignored them.

Yang held up a single finger, giving him a cold glare. "Don't. Ever. Tell me how to keep my sister safe. You hear me?"

Sun put his hands up in defense, Ruby walking over and placing her hands on Yang's shoulders. The younger girl gave her a reassuring look, whispering to her to calm down. When Yang's hand fell back to her side, cold glare still directed at Sun, Ruby continued for her.

"We're looking for the fireflies. We need a lot more supplies and they're the only ones who can get them for us. After that, we'll be heading west to the next quarantine zone." Ruby told him, removing her hands from her older sisters shoulders.

"And since you used to be friends with a couple of them, I figured that you'd be able to tell us where one is." Yang said.

Sun turned around, away from Yang and Ruby, taking a few steps forward and scratching the back of his head. Finally, he shook his head, hand falling back to his side. He turned to face the two girls, looking rather apologetic.

"I knew _one_, and she isn't-"

"But you know one." Yang said, cutting off the blonde.

Sun just nodded. "Yeah, but she _isn't_ a firefly anymore. I don't know how useful she'll be."

Before Yang could respond, he grabbed the backpack from earlier, tossing the bag over to Ruby. It landed in her arms with a soft thud and the sounds of clanging screws. "But if you _really_ want to try, I'll tell you where she is. Unfortunately, she isn't exactly in this quarantine zone."

Sun beckoned for both Yang and Ruby to join him around the table as he flattened out his map once again. When Ruby and Yang joined him, he pointed at a landmass located someplace west of there. It was marked with a skull and cross bones, as were many other areas on the map. "Last I saw of her, she was here in Valence. You get there, you find her and _maybe_, she might be able to help you out."

Yang took the map, rolling it up and placing it in the left side pocket of her backpack.

"I put enough supplies in that bag to last you guys a week. That should be enough time for you to get there if you're careful." Sun explained. Yang nodded. The two of them thanked Sun for his help, and quickly left the warehouse, being mindful of the FEDRA soldiers.

With enough supplies to get them to Valence, the two began the long journey to Valence, hoping that this wasn't just a waste of time. Yang looked at her younger sister, keeping in mind that she had someone to protect. Even if Sun's friend couldn't help them, Yang planned on doing everything she could to keep Ruby alive and well. She always had, ever since Summer died. She'd done some really crummy things, screwed over so many people. Some, if not most of them, probably had families, or similar situations to her own. She'd be lying if that didn't haunt her everyday of her life. Even so, she'd gladly do it over and over, as long as it meant Ruby was safe. The younger girl was her reason for existing in this crummy world.

Nothing will ever hurt her as long as she draws breath.

* * *

**So I hope this chapter is just as good as the last. I've already apologized for the wait, but I'll say it again. I'm sorry. Working on my big project, plus work and home life, made updating hard for a while. But now that I've got a good handle on things, I believe that updates can start coming out again. Princess and the Orphan will either be next, or after my next one shot, as I'm still getting used to writing again. As always, read, follow, favorite, and review, and don't be shy to send me PM's with any questions you guys may have. **


	3. Arc 1: Ruby and Yang P3

**My apologies for the last chapter. I looked back at it and found that I need to do a much better job at proofreading the chapters...I relied solely on spell and grammar check, yet it never informed me that one of the sentences wasn't completed. Anyhow, here's the next chapter. I'd like to point out that this is all arc one, which focuses primarily on Ruby and Yang, how their relationship works and how the world they live in affects them. Arc 1 should probably only one more chapter. **

RWBY

The Last of Us

Ruby always hated being outside of the quarantine zones at night. She could hardly sleep, as the fear of being attacked by hunters or infected was always too great. One of them always had to keep watch, which usually meant only sleeping for three hours at a time. They were almost never fully rested, which left them more vulnerable to attack. Ruby never saw Yang slow down, even if she was tired. But she wasn't like her sister. Her boundless energy had died out years ago, after the first couple of years she had to survive without her mother.

Ruby used to be incredibly fast, never really tiring and able to keep moving for hours, even with hardly any sleep. As the years went on, traveling with only Yang, she'd had to witness and be a part of so many terrible things. A few years ago, her and Yang had come across a pack of infected attacking a small family. They were up on a highway, looking down at the family on the road beneath them. One male, about thirty years old, his little boy and somewhat older daughter. Ruby desperately wanted to help, but Yang told her they needed to keep moving. They didn't have any ammo at the time, and couldn't really do anything. Ruby could see the fear in Yang's eyes. The blonde wanted to help too, but they didn't have anything they could do anything with.

Ruby didn't sleep for days after what she saw.

Even though Yang told her not too, Ruby didn't look away as they ran. The infected had torn them to pieces. Ruby could hear the terrifying wails of the little boy as one of the runners tore into him. Blood was flying everywhere as the boy just screamed. The daughter screamed for her father, desperately hoping he would somehow save them, but their father was already dead. Ruby didn't know when, but she started crying and covered her ears, trying to block it all out.

This continued throughout the years, and Ruby began to slow, her body too fatigued to maintain all of that energy she once had. She could hardly sleep, and when she did, it wasn't very sound. Whenever she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but let her mind wander to every possible outcome of their lives. Often times, it was either her or Yang being torn apart. Other times, it was the possibility of her being infected, still able to see what she was doing, as she quickly slaughtered her sister.

Those were terrifying nightmares.

Despite not really being able to sleep, they couldn't keep traveling at night. It was incredibly dangerous. She could hardly see, aside from the small amount of light offered by her flashlight. The light that it offered wouldn't last very long, as they only had one final pair of batteries to use. Resources were getting more and more scarce.

They were walking through an abandoned city, one that had been unfortunate enough to fall without any protection. There were cities that had been turned into quarantine zones, under the rule of FEDRA, while other cities had fallen immediately. Rhiner had once been a lively city, full of shops, restaurants. It was normally jam-packed with thousands of people rushing to get to work, or home after. Years ago, you couldn't move an inch without finding yourself surrounded by people. Now, the streets were completely barren, aside from hundreds of crashed cars.

Yang wanted to avoid the larger parts of the city, mostly because they were highly sought after for shelter by hunters, and had the most infected at times. Seeing as how they hadn't run into any infected yet, Yang didn't feel very comfortable looking for shelter in there. Instead, they stuck to more of the back ends and skirts of the city. The blonde had lead them to, what appeared to be a graveyard mausoleum. Ruby felt uncomfortable, looking around at all the graves. Most of these souls had perished long before the outbreak. Not too many people died of natural causes anymore.

Ruby followed her sister across the lawn, leading up to the stairs of the mausoleum. The marble that formed the building was chipped and cracked in several places. It looked incredibly old, and yet still looked better than many of the buildings in the larger parts of the city. The mausoleum only had a single door, which Yang walked up to and started inspecting. She pushed and pulled on it, kicked and punched until she was satisfied by how sturdy it was. She took a step back and looked up, taking note of the single, circular window that decorated the building just above the door.

The door itself had various carvings of angels and crosses, etched into extruded squares in rows of two, eight in total. Above the door was an archway that was held up by four, bronze pillars that rested at the top of the stairs. At the very top of the building was an old cross that was completely broken at the very top.

Ruby quickly raised her gun when Yang started opening the door, expecting an infected runner or clicker to come running out the second it had the chance. Yang seemed to pick up on that too, staying behind the door as she opened it. When Ruby saw nothing at first, she pulled out her flashlight and shined it inside, illuminating the darkness. The entire mausoleum was completely empty. Nothing but the walls and floor were inside. Ruby sighed in relief and put the flashlight back into her pocket. Yang took that as the all clear and stepped out from behind the door. The blonde ushered for Ruby to get inside and she shut the door behind them.

A loud echo filled the room the second the door was shut. The silence and emptiness of the room made Ruby feel very uncomfortable. There was no light, other than the slight sliver of moonlight that made it through the window. Yang threw her backpack down carelessly on the ground, kicking up a small amount of dust. Ruby had been sitting next to where the backpack landed, and coughed when the dust entered her lungs. When the coughing subsided, Ruby turned her attention to Yang, who was sitting against the wall opposite the door. She had her hand firmly wrapped around her pistol, keeping her gaze fixed on the door.

"I'll take the first watch. I'll wake you up in about three hours." Yang said.

Ruby nodded, pulling her backpack off and setting it carefully down on the floor. She slid it up close to the wall and laid her head down on the makeshift pillow. However, she didn't try to sleep just yet. No matter how hard she'd try, it would take a while for her to get to sleep. Yang took her eyes off the door for a second and looked at her baby sister. A sense of worry washed over her for a moment. Ruby needed to sleep. They wouldn't be in a good position if her senses were dulled from exhaustion.

Ruby rolled over, facing away from Yang as she closed her eyes. A few sleepless minutes had passed before she heard Yang's footsteps behind her. Ruby didn't need to look up to know what she was doing, as it had become common for them. Yang would settled down beside her most nights, and would stroke her hand through her red-tipped hair. The feeling was nice and soothing, and was the only way she could sleep most nights. It didn't make her feel safe, but did help ease her mind knowing that Yang was still there with her. It still took a while, but she finally managed to fall asleep, her breathing slowing to an even pace.

Ruby had only been asleep for an hour before Yang felt her eyes slowly begin to droop. The blonde shook her head to try to wake herself up. She couldn't afford to sleep right now. She tightened her grip on her pistol, mentally daring anybody nearby to try to attack them now. The silence had long since passed after Yang started focusing on the sound of her sisters breathing. However, another sound starting mixing with that.

At first, it was just the sound of crunching leaves. Every second, she could hear it again and again. It was uneven, and Yang silently hoped she was just hearing things. However, when she heard a rather high pitched growling sound, she knew she didn't get so lucky. Infected had found their way to the graveyard. How many, she didn't know. She slowly got up, careful not to wake Ruby, and approached the door. She slowly placed her ear to the stony frame, listening carefully. She heard the crunching again, relatively close by. She figured it was just a runner, but her heart stopped when she heard a clicking sound.

"Oh shit..." She whispered, quickly but quietly moving away from the door. She gripped her pistol once more, keeping her eyes on the door as the clicking got louder, followed by several more. The clickers wouldn't be able to beat down the door, but that was their only exit. Yang cursed her stupidity for choosing a building with only one entrance. She started pacing around the room, her right hand grasping at her hair.

Suddenly her foot hit something as she was pacing, causing her to nearly trip. She managed to catch herself and looked at the floor. It looked like a handle, though she couldn't tell, as it was too dark. She squinted and got closer, trying to get a better idea. Still no good. She quickly rose up and rushed over to Ruby's back pack. She picked it up and unzipped it in a hurry. She dug through the contents frantically.

"Come on, come on." Yang whispered. "Fuck!"

Yang pushed the backpack away from her and jumped when Ruby began to stir. Yang jumped up from her spot on the floor, feeling guilty for waking her sweet sister. "Yang? What's going on?"

The sound of the clicker started pouring in from outside again, and Ruby jumped to her feet.

"Yang, what the hell is going on?" Ruby asked in fear. Yang made her way over to Ruby again, grabbing the nineteen year old and sticking her hands in her pockets.

"Wha-Hey! Yang, what are you doing!?"

Yang didn't answer, instead, she pulled out Ruby's small flashlight, turning it on as fast as she could and looking around the room. One of the clickers must've detected them, and started beating on the door, causing both girls to jump. Yang looked around the floor desperately until the flashlight finally illuminated a small, wooden cellar door. Yang pounced on the door, sticking the flashlight in her mouth to steady the light. She pulled the door open and shined the light down the stairs it revealed.

"Oh, phank god." Yang whispered, with the flashlight still sticking out of her mouth. When Yang stood up, taking the flashlight back out of her mouth, Ruby started pestering her for answers again.

"Yang, what the hell is going on?" Ruby whimpered.

Yang tossed the flashlight back to Ruby, who fumbled it before tightening her hold. "We have to get out of here. There's a shit load of clickers outside and I don't want to use up our ammo on them. Come on."

Without waiting for an answer, Yang grabbed her backpack and rushed down the stairs. After processing the information, Ruby followed suit, grabbing her own pack and throwing her arms through the straps. The stairs were made of an old wood that appeared to be very damp and rotted. Ruby nearly stumbled down the stairs as her foot found a loose board. She threw her right hand to the wall to steady herself and continued her descent. Yang stopped moving.

"Flashlight."

Ruby turned the flashlight on and scanned the new territory. It just seemed to be some old basement at first. Wherever the light from her flashlight landed, they could see a ton of rising dust. She squealed when Yang pulled her to her chest incredibly roughly and covered her mouth. Yang covered her own mouth with her shirt and guided Ruby's hand. The flashlight rested on what appeared to be a dead body.

The body was slumped over, sticking to the wall and covered in fungus. Protruding out of the body was large amounts of mycelium. The majority of the dust was emanating from around the body, and Yang knew exactly what those were.

"Spores." She said through her shirt, struggling to breath through her loose shirt. Yang backed them up, taking a few steps back up the stairs behind them. She took her hand off Ruby's mouth, wiping it on her shirt as Ruby had drooled slightly on her palm. Yang grabbed Ruby by the shoulders and turned her around, unzipping her backpack and sifting through the contents. She pulled out a gas mask and fastened it around her own face. Gas mask secured, Yang turned Ruby back around and looked her in the eyes.

"Ruby, I want you to listen carefully. You need to go back upstairs and shut the cellar door. I'm gonna go outside and try to draw the clickers attention. I want you to move as far away as possible when that happens-"

Ruby shook her head, eyes widening in fear. "N-no, Yang, I can't leave you here, I-I'm not-"

Yang roughly shook her shoulders. "Damnit, Ruby! I'm not arguing with you! Just do what I fucking tell you, alright!?"

Ruby didn't say anything. She just stood there, mouth agape and stared at Yang. Her older sister pulled her into a hug, whispering into her ear.

"I promise, I'll be right behind you once you get out. Just listen to me, OK?" Yang assured her.

Without arguing, Ruby nodded, handing her sister her flashlight and ran up the stairs. Yang watched her go and waited for the younger girl to shut the cellar door. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before beginning her trek through this new room. Turning on Ruby's flashlight, she examined this new environment.

The inital part of this room was large and open. There wasn't much to it, only various shelves that seemed to have been picked clean. Yang examined them, trying to see if she could find anything useful. Seeing nothing, she looked at the dead body slumped over by the wall. She knelt down and sifted through his pockets. She found nothing of use and gave up, continuing through the area. After leaving the initial room, everything appeared to be one long corridor with various amounts of stone shelving. As Yang walked through, each step echoing through the halls, she took note of the coffins resting on the shelves. Yang felt no fear as she passed by several open coffins, offering clear views of the decomposing bodies inside.

She made several turns, passing through more and more corridors until she finally found another staircase leading upwards. She jogged up the stairs until she reached another stone door. She made sure to grab her gun, checking to see if it was loaded. When she was sure she was prepared, the blonde pushed open the door and stepped out into the cool, night air. Once she was clear of the spores, she tore off the mask and fastened it to her pants via her belt. She looked around and focused on the mausoleum that Ruby was still taking shelter in. Now that she was outside, she could vaguely see about 4 clickers just wandering aimlessly around the building.

Yang looked around for anything she could use to distract them. Her eyes landed on a brick just a few steps away from her. She moved over to it, taking it firmly into her hand and jogged up to the clickers. She stopped just a few feet away, cocking her arm back before chucking the brick as far as she could. The brick collided with a grave, the sound of the brick breaking distracting the clickers. They clicked and clenched their teeth, making a loud clacking sound. They slowly made their way over to where the brick had landed.

Thinking that everything was safe, Yang slowly approached the mausoleum before she froze. A fourth clicker had made its way around the left side of the mausoleum and was making its way toward her. It didn't notice her, so she quickly ducked behind a nearby tree.

It was just one clicker. That would be fine. She could handle this. But when Ruby had prematurely opened the door to take a peek outside, her heart nearly stopped. She saw Ruby slowly poke her head out, peeking left and right, no doubt looking for Yang and the clickers. She didn't notice the clicker that just a few feet to her left.

"Damnit, Ruby." Yang hissed.

Slowly, she moved toward the clicker, taking extra precautions to duck behind cover whenever she could. She stayed low to the ground and dug her hand into her right pocket, pulling out a small pocket knife. When she got close enough to the clicker, she immediately pounced, jumping onto its back and throwing her left arm around its neck. The clicker screeched and tried biting at her arm. But Yang jerked its head back and slammed the knife into its neck repeatedly. Blood splattered against the small blade, and Yang continued stabbing the clicker until it fell limp. She guided its body down and laid it on the ground.

She wasn't able to relish in the victory as the clickers dying screeches alerted the others, and they were quickly coming after them. Yang kicked off the ground and ran to the open mausoleum, grabbing Ruby by the arm and tearing her away from the building.

"Move!" She screamed.

The two ran full speed out of the graveyard, three clickers trailing from behind. Both girls were panting heavily as they ran, having nearly tripped over various bits of debris. The clickers were beginning to catch up, and Yang was racking her brain to figure out an emergency plan. The two girls were now running through the larger sections of the city, and more infected began joining the clickers. As they ran, Yang aimed her pistol behind her, trying her best to aim and still keep moving. She fired three shots, landing a bullet a piece in the legs of two runners, causing them to trip and fall to the ground. As they did, they managed to bring a couple others with them. However, the clickers and some other runners were still following suit.

The two girls turned into an alley way that rested in between a hotel and some corporate building. As they entered the alley way, Yang immediately made a B-line for a trashcan, grabbing it and moving it up against the wall. Yang had noticed the fire escape and directed Ruby to climb up to it.

"Climb, climb!"

Ruby wasted no time in jumping on the trashcan and grabbing the ladder of the fire escape. By the time she had finished climbing, she leaned over the rail to look to Yang. The runners and clickers had caught up to them by the time Yang started climbing. A few runners tried grabbing at her legs, but she kicked them in the faces and pulled the ladder up once she was safe. Yang pushed Ruby along the fire escape, leading her through an open window and slamming it shut.

The two girls panted heavily, Yang taking a moment to catch her breath before guiding Ruby over to a bed. "Sit here, and _don't._ Move." she ordered.

Yang moved out into the hallway, looking in both directions before returning to the room and shutting the door. She locked it and started dragging the dresser across the floor. Ruby could practically hear the old carpet tearing as the wooden surface dragged across it. Yang had barricaded the door with the dresser and repeated this process with the entertainment center, placing it in front of the window. Once she was certain they were safe, Yang laid into Ruby.

Yang yelled, holding out her arms. "What the _fuck_ is wrong with you!?"

Ruby bit her lip, not daring to answer her.

"I told you to stay inside and wait for me, and what did you do!? You could've gotten fucking _killed_ Ruby! Is that what you want!?"

Yang was screaming at the top of her lungs, forgetting that there could be other occupants in the hotel. Ruby was crying at this point, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't doing the same.

"I'm _trying_ to protect you Ruby. And _damnit_ if I'm not trying my fucking best." she cried, sniffling again as she took a moment to ponder her next few words. She shook her head, not tearing her eyes away from the crying girl. "After all these years, I would've thought that you'd fucking learned by now."

Ruby went to say something, but Yang just put her hand up, cutting the girl off.

"I don't want to hear it, Ruby. Just go to sleep. We can't stick around for long."

Ruby just nodded, wiping the tears from her now puffy eyes and laid her head down on the bed, trying her best to sleep. Yang figured they'd be safe long enough for her to take a quick rest. The blonde sunk into a nearby chair, taking one last look at Ruby before she descended into sleep. She didn't want to yell at Ruby, but she needed to learn. Yang knew, deep down, that she wouldn't be around to protect Ruby for ever.

* * *

**And that's the latest chapter. If you guys could review and tell me if you guys think the story is moving too slowly, or is too descriptive with not enough dialogue. I need to know these things before I can move back into Princess and the Orphan, so reviews are appreciated!**


	4. Arc 2: Part 1: Kidnapped

RWBY

The Last of Us

Arc 2: Firefly game plan

Chapter 1: Kidnapped

* * *

Watching Ruby sleep used to be Yang's favorite thing in the world. But now, watching as her younger sister tossed and turned frequently, whimpering every second, Yang couldn't bare it. She knew that, deep down, a lot of that was her fault. Ruby continued tossing and turning in the queen sized hotel bed, gripping the sheets and moving the blanket with her. Yang clenched her jaw and quickly got out of her chair. She slowly approached the windows, taking a quick peak outside. The streets were still pitch black, and Yang could still hear the faint sounds of runners walking through the streets. Out of the corner of her eye, Yang could see Ruby still tossing and turning, though slowing down a bit. Yang pushed away from the window and walked over to the barricaded door. She grabbed the wooden dresser and slowly pulled it back. As it moved, it started tearing up what was left of the carpet.

Yang was cautious moving out into the hallway. Looking down both ends, she saw no signs of infected or hunters. She sighed in relief and looked back at Ruby. Before she left, she made sure to pull the dresser back in the way. She needed to find materials. Bullets, bandages, anything that she and Ruby could use to survive another day. She started with the room directly across from them. The door was shut and as the blonde tried to open it, she found that it was locked. She wiggled the knob again, seeing if she couldn't somehow jiggle it loose and shoved it with her shoulder when it still wouldn't open.

"Of all the rotten luck…" she muttered.

Kneeling down on the ground, Yang pulled her backpack down and laid it out. She dug threw it until she found a small shiv. Using it on the door, she slowly started trying to pry it open. Her shiv snapped, but the door was now accessible. She grabbed her bag and stood back up, opening the door to claim her rewards. The inside of the room seemed almost untouched. It was just like the room that Ruby was in now, but more intact. She walked inside and took notice of the vast amounts of dust that littered the wooden surfaces. Her foot caught on something as she walked, causing her to stumble slightly. Yang looked to see what it was and wasn't surprised to see a person's body sprawled out on the floor. She inspected the body to get a good look at him.

He was a male, appeared to be in his mid-fifties. The man was sporting blue hair, which Yang found odd. His eyes were closed and Yang couldn't see any bites anywhere on his body. The man was lucky to have died, probably from malnutrition. She started searching his body for anything she could use, but all she founds was a few pieces of crumpled up paper, used shell casings, and a lighter. After checking the object, Yang threw it across the room. It was empty. It was then that she noticed he was holding something, like a book. She snatched the book from his hand and flipped through the pages. Most of them seemed empty, which was good. She could use this. However, a few of the pages had things written in them. Curiosity got the better of her, and she skimmed through a few of the pages. They were just talking about a family he had left behind while looking for supplies. His sick wife and young son. According to the date, he had left them some time ago. Came to this city looking for supplies after sneaking out of Valence and barricaded himself in here after an infected attack. Yang tore the pages out of the book crumpling them up and threw them to the side. Placing the book in her bag, the blonde started searching the rest of the room.

She opened up the top drawer of the nearby nightstand.

Nothing.

Slamming it shut, she tried the bottom drawer.

Nothing.

She slammed that shut as well and moved into the bathroom. The door creaked rather loudly as she slowly opened it, placing her hand on her pistol in case something had somehow managed to get in. Once the door was halfway open, she swung it open the rest of the way and saw nothing. Relaxing a bit, she started rummaging through the bathroom. There wasn't much to look through, but when she opened the medicine cabinet, she smiled with her luck. She reached in and grabbed a half used roll of medical bandages.

With this room finished, Yang left and looked down both ends of the hall before moving onto the next room. Each room continued to disappoint her, as she found nothing but broken furniture and dead bodies. By the time she got to the end of the hallway, she could start hearing noises. At first, it just sounded like someone was rummaging. She froze and looked all around her. Seeing nothing, she froze again once a new noise was heard. She recognized it as runners, her heart beating a mile a minute.

She wasn't with Ruby.

Ruby was in danger.

She turned and was about to break out into a spirit, but a new sight stopped her dead in her tracks. A clicker was limping its way down the hall, just a few feet away from Ruby's room. Acting on instinct, Yang ducked behind a potted plant, checking behind her in case the runners got the drop on her. She placed her hand on her pistol, but after thinking for a moment, took her hand off. Instead, she crouch walked into the closest room to her right and looked for anything she could use. Improvising, she grabbed a plank of wood off of the bed and walked back out. The clicker was now right in front of Ruby's room, taking a sudden interest in the blockade Yang set up. Silently, Yang crouch walked toward the clicker. Once she got right up behind it, she stood and swung the plank, bashing it repeatedly into the Clicker. Once, twice, thrice, she struck the clicker as hard as she could, grunting with each strike. The clicker collapsed to the floor, gurgling with a great amount of saliva pouring out of its mouth. Yang was panting, but had no time to rest and kicked the Clicker away.

"Yang? Yang!? What's going on!?"

Ruby sounded like she was close to tears, clearly worried that something had happened to her older sister. Acting on instinct once again, Yang used all of her strength to move her barricade as fast as she could. With it out of the way, Ruby immediately ran over to her and hugged her. Yang pushed her to arm's length.

"Ruby, we don't have time for this. I can hear infected, so we have to move before we get cornered here. Come on."

Yang grabbed Ruby by the wrist and pulled her over to the bed, making her grab her backpack off the foot of the bed and hurrying out the door. The sounds of infected could be heard again, followed by gunshots three gunshots and a body hitting the floor. Yang and Ruby both froze, mimicking deer caught in head lights.

"Fucking infected! I'm sick and _tired_ of these damn things."

"Hey, relax. They're dead and I don't see anymore."

"Shit!" Yang hissed, grabbing Ruby and pulling her into another one of the hotel rooms. Yang peaked around the corner and could hear footsteps coming up the stairs to their floor.

"That was _one_ runner. You know damn well there's probably more in here, and I'm tired of wasting the fucking ammo."

"Just quit your damn whining and pay attention. The faster we complete our rounds, the faster we can get back and get some damn sleep."

Yang ducked back into the room and placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders and stared into her eyes. "Ruby, I need you to listen to me. You need to stay put and pay attention. If I get into trouble out there, I need you shoot to kill."

Ruby's eyes widened and she shook her head slowly. "No. No, no, no, Yang, I _can't_ do that. You know I can't kill another living person, Yang, I can't-"

"You don't have a choice, Ruby."

Before the younger girl could respond, Yang had already started moving out of the room. Right as she poked her head out of the door, she could see two heads poking out from the top of the stairs. She quickly ducked into the room right across the hall and waited. The two men were at the top of the stairs and started splitting up. One of them started walking down toward Yang and Ruby, while the other went down the hall to Yang's right. Just as the man passed by Yang's room, she jumped out and grabbed him from behind. She wasn't quite fast enough to kill him before he called out.

"Get the fuck off me!"

Yang grunted while she struggled to take him out before his partner should up. She tightened her hold around his neck, using her arm to restrict his breathing. With one, quick jerk of her arm, she ended and let his body fall limp and crash to the floor. In that moment, his partner had already come running in and grabbed Yang, slamming her face first into the wall. She fell to the floor on her back and found her attackers hands wrapped tightly around her neck. She tried to call out for Ruby, but all that came out were desperate gasps for air. She jerked and twisted her body, kicking her legs. In the corner of her eye, she saw Ruby holding her gun to the man with a trembling hand and could faintly hear, what she thought to be the sounds of infected.

But Ruby couldn't shoot him.

Rather than firing to kill, Ruby pulled the trigger and shot him in the leg. He yelled in pain and let go of Yang, long enough for her to catch her breath and shove him off of her. When she stood to her feet, she lunged forward to punch him, but stopped dead in her tracks. She saw a struggling Ruby being held by her attacker with her own gun pointed to her head. Ruby struggled to break free, but his grip remained tight and he easily jerked her back into position. Yang held up her hand, trying to ease the situation.

"Let's not do anything hasty, now." Yang reasoned, keeping her voice calm, despite her still breathing incredibly hard.

The man clenched his teeth and applied too much pressure to Ruby's neck, causing her to cry out in pain. "Fuck you! You killed my partner. I'm not letting you go anywhere."

As if by some twisted fate, a newcomer came over from behind the man and bit him on his left shoulder. The gun fell to the floor and Yang immediately sprang forward, grabbing the gun first, followed by Ruby. She pulled her back and ran down the other end of the hallway. Just as they turned the corner, another runner had bumped into them, knocking Yang down on the ground. The blonde used her right hand to keep the runner from gnawing at her neck and could feel the saliva splattering against her face. Unlike last time, Ruby was quick to act and repeatedly stabbed the runner in the back of the neck with her own shiv. The tiny blade remained embedded in the runners neck as it fell limp against Yang's body.

The infected was thrown to the floor, and Yang didn't waste a second waiting for another one. She jumped to her feet and grabbed Ruby again, pulling her along the hallway. At the end of the hall, she could see the stairs, with two runners blocking their path. This time, Yang stopped running for a moment and pulled her pistol. Taking careful, but quick aim, she fired two shots. The first was lucky enough to hit one in the head, dropping him to the ground immediately. The second had only hit the shoulder blade, causing it to jerk back and tumble down the stairs. Both Yang and Ruby dashed for the stairs and jumped over the railings, avoiding the still living runner completely. The two ran as fast they could, finding their way to the first floor and out the door. More infected could be heard coming after them, sending Yang into a quick mode of panic. Looking around for faster transport, Yang's gaze fell on a worn out bike. She was deep in thought, but few quick cries of infected told her that she didn't have time to think.

"Yang?" Ruby asked, worriedly.

The girl in question looked at Ruby for a moment, taking in her fearful and questioning gaze and looking back at the bike.

"Screw it."

Yang ran over and grabbed the bike, motioning for Ruby to run over and jump on the back. When Ruby climbed up, using the pegs in the back to keep herself up, she wrapped her arms around Yang's waste. When they started moving at first, Yang struggled to keep their balance, wobbling a bit as they walked. After a minute, she started getting her balance back and switched to pedaling. Both girls were able to relax knowing that they were finally safe for the moment.

* * *

Yang and Ruby had made it to Valence with half a day to spare, thanks to continuous pedaling with minimal interruptions in between. Yang felt exhausted, but figured she could rest and relax in the quarantine zone. They wouldn't be able to bring any of their supplies in with them, so the two had to wait until nightfall to sneak in. Once inside, the two wandered the streets, trying to find someplace that they could rest at. They walked the streets in silence, aside from the screams of pain and panic that caught Ruby's attention. She looked up at Yang, who had heard the sounds as well, but was content to just ignore them and keep on moving.

But Ruby couldn't. She stopped moving and looked around for where the sound could be coming from. Yang hadn't even noticed when Ruby broke into a sprint down the street to their left. She saw a small shack that had a very faint glow emanating from inside. As she approached the shack, the sounds of pain got louder and she could make out the forms of four individuals inside. Three of them were men, about average build and size. One of them was holding a girls arms behind her back, while the other two took turns beating her.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Ruby called out, holding her gun out and hoped to god that she seemed intimidating.

Her slight shakiness gave her away, and the other men only stopped to stare at her. They didn't look worried in the slightest, and one of them continued his onslaught on the girl's stomach. The other started walking toward Ruby.

"Just mind your own business and get the fuck out of here." The guy said, and turned to continue beating the girl.

Without even thinking, Ruby pulled the trigger and fired three shots around the men, hoping that, once again, she would intimidate them into stopping. The sounds only partially startled the men, dropping the girl and starting to crowd around Ruby. The one who spoke to her earlier grabbed her by the hair and jerked her head back. She could feel his hot breath against her face as he spoke, and she crinkled her nose in disgust. His breath smelled absolutely horrid and made her want to puke.

"I _told_ you to mind your own fucking business, didn't I?"

The younger girl didn't even get a chance to reply, as her opponent let her go and dropped to the ground in pain. Her ears didn't even register the sounds of a gun going off, embedding a bullet in his leg. The other two turned to find that the shooter was Yang.

"Get. Away from her." Yang spat venomously.

The now injured man was carried off by his two buddies, and Yang put her gun away. She walked over to Ruby and grabbed her by her collar.

"Don't you _ever_ leave by yourself. You understand me?" Yang asked, harshly.

Ruby nodded before offering her rebuttal. "I couldn't just let them keep beating her. They were going to _kill_ her!"

Yang looked over at the other girl. She had snow white hair and icy, blue eyes, one of which was swollen. The girl was wiping the blood that was dripping from her mouth, and from the looks of things, had been injured really badly.

"What's your name?" Yang asked.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Weiss."

Yang rubbed her chin in thought and shook her head. "Get up."

"Excuse me?"

Yang frowned and tightened her fist. "You heard me. Get up and let's go."

Weiss struggled to get up, and cold hardly stand by herself, having to use the wall for support. Her breathing was ragged, and she hissed in pain slightly as she stood, clutching her stomach.

"What, you think I'm going to come with you?"

"I don't _think_, I'm telling you. Let's. Go."

"Why? So you can steal the clothes off of my back, use me for bait? Or you planning on fucking raping me while I'm injured?" Weiss spat.

Yang wasted no time in crossing the small room to approach the girl, which elicited worry from her younger sister. "Yang? Yang, what are you-"

The blonde grabbed the white-haired girl by the collar and looked her dead in the eyes, staring at her angrily. "Those bullets that _she_ used to save you." Yang gestured to Ruby. "Were _mine_. And I don't like wasting precious materials, _especially_ not on other people. So you're going to pay them off, by coming with us and helping us out with whatever I need you for. And I don't want to hear a peep from you about it. That clear?"

"I didn't _ask_ her to do that. In fact, I wish she just let me die. It sure would be a better change than staying on this fucking hellhole of a planet."

Yang grabbed the girl by the wrist and applied a slight amount of pressure to the clearly broken appendage, causing her to yelp in pain. Yang's gaze never broke, and she appeared even more menacing than before. "If you don't, I'll make sure that the pain you feel will leave you practically _begging_ for a death that will never come." She whispered, making sure that Ruby couldn't hear the threat.

For good measure, Yang applied even more pressure to the girls wrist. Through tears and choked gasps of pain, the girl finally nodded, allowing Yang to release her and take a step back. The girl caressed her wrist and looked at Yang.

"Just know, that the very second I get the chance, I'm leaving, so don't expect me to have your back."

* * *

**Hope the story still meets you guys' expectations. For those of you waiting for me to update my other stories, writers block is a bitch, and on top of working on my animation projects, plus work and other stress, it makes it so much harder. I've got something going for Princess and the Orphan, but getting it to meet my expectations is a bit harder, so that might take a bit longer. Though, once I get at least another chapter out, it should be smooth sailing from then on. **

**Now for this chapter, yes. Yang basically just kidnapped Weiss and intimidated her into staying. In this world, I honestly imagine Yang becoming more and more brutal caused by years of having to protect her younger sister. Weiss, I have my own plans for, and the same goes for Blake, and the rest of the RWBY cast. Anyway, please read, review, and tell your friends! **

**Also a quick shout out, I highly recommend that you guys check out "Remnants of Us" which is another Last of Us styled story. It takes a different approach to mine, which is interesting (even though Remnants of Us came out first) and I feel like his writing style for that story exceeds my own, BUT we'll see what happens once I spend more time with this one. :)**

**Have a good one everybody. **


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